Williamson dominated on the floor against Syracuse and coverage of his return and the Nike shoes he wore also dominated the broadcast. ESPN reported during the ACC Tournament quarterfinals that Nike worked to build a special custom shoe for Williamson as he made his return to the lineup after a knee injury that resulted from an on-court incident against North Carolina in February where his Paul George 2.5 signature shoe literally exploded.

The Nike Williamson wore on Thursday night in Charlotte was not a George signature, but a Kyrie Irving shoe — apparently a Kyrie 4. And after the win over Syracuse to set up another meeting with the Tar Heels we learned just how much work Nike did to build a stronger shoe to contain Williamson’s feet. ESPN’s Allison Williams reported on the broadcast that Williamson’s “special needs” required Nike to put in some extra work on the shoe.